Yesterday finished three weeks of traveling and hanging with my best friend, she is now back in the United States. And where I was three weeks ago is very different than where I am now. Not so much in the physical sense, but in my heart and mind. This is the first time in more than a week that I have seen a computer screen and I have not yet checked my email, nor will I. I only sit here to write on this blog.
When planning all of this, I told myself that the first few months of being here would be relaxing, traveling with friends and family and basically something resembling settling in, adjusting to the culture again. I worked a lot last summer to make this happen and I did not want the pressure of coming here with intentions to work or be serious right away.
The past month of traveling has been great, mostly. But it was really this past week that the huge disconnect became totally noticable. The further I get from my life in the United States, the further I get from it in every sense, not to sound too cliche. I don't think I need to describe it in too much detail, I'm not sure I could make sense of it. But I can sit here and say that something happened to me this last week of hiding in the jungle by a river and partying with my friend in Antigua for her last nights of a 5 month international trip that makes me know my life from here on out will have an even more enlightened perspective.
Over the past week as I have thought about all of my life in the United States, and my new life I am building here, the differences in my daily concerns while living in each place are really showing stark contrasts. Letting go of the life I can no longer live in the United States feels really fucking good. Plain and simple.
Tomorrow I leave Antigua again to return to the lake to really start my life this time. I have had only short and sporadic periods of time there up til now due to visitors and traveling. But tomorrow, I leave to go home to the lake and this time, I will not be leaving for a while. I am going to start, really start my new life here. Begin to look for work, build relationships and become part of the community. And after a month of traveling, I am so ready. Even more, after this past week of some of the most unbelievable times of my life traveling with Emily, I know I am here to stay. Sorry folks, America has lost this American.
Perhaps I will indulge more on these topics in the future, but tonight, I am feeling a particular sentiment for the feelings I have in my heart crying out that I am perfectly placed on the planet right now and I better just stay.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Rainy day
Hola all from Livingston, Izabal, Guatemala. It´s raining and there´s not much else to do, so I figured I´d update the folks.
Livingston is on the Carribean coast of Guatemala, and is very different than anywhere else I´ve been in this country. I´m currently traveling with one of my best friends who came here for three weeks on her way home to California after three and a half months in South America. Livingston is very funky, and a unique mix of African slave descendents and indegenous Maya. I have finally found a place where the Guatemalans are as tall or taller than me. I guess that´s typical of African descendent folks though. But I´m eating it up. I will admit it´s a bit strange to hear the black folks here speaking spanish, since I´m used to hearing Carribean residents speaking Creole or something of the like. I like it here a lot, feels like I´m on a vacation from the rest of Guatemala with out leaving Guatemala, whoop!
We arrived here via a two hour boat tour down the Rio Dulce, a beautiful, jungle lined river in southeastern Guatemala in the state of Izabal. And we are leaving tomorrow to take a boat to Puerto Barrios and then catch a bus up to Flores, where the ruins of Tikal are(Tikal is like the Pyramids of Egypt, one does not come to Guatemala and skip Tikal). My friend wants to see the ruins, naturally, but I am not going again as I was just there with the mom and have been before that another time.
I wish I could be more witty and entertaining, however, the rain has dulled my luster. Too bad, so sad. Guess I´ll dig deeper for my awesome writing skills when mi amiga is at the ruins and I´m resting my weary travelers feet in the internet cafés of Flores.
Livingston is on the Carribean coast of Guatemala, and is very different than anywhere else I´ve been in this country. I´m currently traveling with one of my best friends who came here for three weeks on her way home to California after three and a half months in South America. Livingston is very funky, and a unique mix of African slave descendents and indegenous Maya. I have finally found a place where the Guatemalans are as tall or taller than me. I guess that´s typical of African descendent folks though. But I´m eating it up. I will admit it´s a bit strange to hear the black folks here speaking spanish, since I´m used to hearing Carribean residents speaking Creole or something of the like. I like it here a lot, feels like I´m on a vacation from the rest of Guatemala with out leaving Guatemala, whoop!
We arrived here via a two hour boat tour down the Rio Dulce, a beautiful, jungle lined river in southeastern Guatemala in the state of Izabal. And we are leaving tomorrow to take a boat to Puerto Barrios and then catch a bus up to Flores, where the ruins of Tikal are(Tikal is like the Pyramids of Egypt, one does not come to Guatemala and skip Tikal). My friend wants to see the ruins, naturally, but I am not going again as I was just there with the mom and have been before that another time.
I wish I could be more witty and entertaining, however, the rain has dulled my luster. Too bad, so sad. Guess I´ll dig deeper for my awesome writing skills when mi amiga is at the ruins and I´m resting my weary travelers feet in the internet cafés of Flores.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Turistas
I have just spent the last ten or so days galavanting about Guatemala with my mother. It all went smoothly, by Guatemalan standards, meaning everything turned out, but not without heaps of stress at times. Lets just says there´s nothing like catching a shuttle to the airport at 4am only to have the shuttle die as soon as it leaves town to head for the airport leaving us sitting in the mountains of Guatemala in the dark not knowing it the damn van is going to start up again or not. Oy, I´m glad we made it that day, barely.
I have never traveled with anyone and it was a different experience. More hectic than I am used to, always being able to take things at my own pace and not on such a tight schedule. However, there was plenty of relaxing to be had, it was the transportation connections that proved to be the most work.
We spent Christmas in Antigua, hanging out in the park on Christmas Eve practically buried underneath little Mayan girls. I asked one of them if I could see her skirt(en español) so I could show my mom how the Mayan ladies wrap them up. Initally she was shy, but before we knew it there was a line of them, ten deep all showing their skirts to my mother and I. Cute as crap doesn´t even begin to describe it. They were all so adorable. Then they proceeded to run laps around the park and when they passed us, one of the tiniest ones would yell "¡¡Feliz Navidad!!", every time she passed, in her little squealy spanish.
For Christmas, the Guatemalans blow up fire works, all day and night and day and night. At midnight on Christmas Eve, every rooftop in town has a show of fireworks. Every direction one looks, fireworks. Fireworks for Jesus, happy birthday Jesus, let´s blow some stuff up.
After Antigua, we spent two days in the jungle to see the most famous Mayan ruins here in Guatemala, called Tikal. It was hot and humid and perfect. The temples of Tikal are some of the grandest of all the Mayan ruins and though I had been before, it was awesome to see again.
We spent the rest of the time at the lake after Tikal, taking it super easy. My mother had expressed her desire to not be running around the entire time, so we didn´t. We chilled. Lago de Atitlán is a perfect place to chill. She got to meet Chema, my tiny love, and she had even brought a giant stuffed animal fish for him, which to say the least, was a hit. He was shy taking the gift, but two seconds later he was attacking his friends with it as though it was a shark. I love him!
New Years Eve in San Pedro was more than nuts, though there was peace to be found. Being somewhat of a party town, San Pedro draws the crowds on the party holidays. Half of Guatemala City was up there, I swear. Not really, but no one has ever heard so many fireworks and fire crackers in their lives. They sell huge bomb fireworks on the street for like 60cents and rolls of fire crackers the size of basketballs. Nothing like buying heaps of fireworks from an 8 year old, no lie. Guatemalans know how to party, blowin´ stuff up.
The woman(mother) left this morning from the airport after a sucessful time here, and I´m sure she will be thrilled to be greeted by freezin´ ass temperatures after days of 70´s and 80´s in the jungles of Guatemala. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, cold sucks!!!
Now I am spending the night in Guatemala City because one of my best friends arrives tomorrow at the airport after three and a half months in South America. She will be here for three weeks and I´m looking forward to it immensely.
And the plot thickens. The camera cable I ordered and had my mother bring, was the wrong one. Good thing I found mine. sheesh.
I have never traveled with anyone and it was a different experience. More hectic than I am used to, always being able to take things at my own pace and not on such a tight schedule. However, there was plenty of relaxing to be had, it was the transportation connections that proved to be the most work.
We spent Christmas in Antigua, hanging out in the park on Christmas Eve practically buried underneath little Mayan girls. I asked one of them if I could see her skirt(en español) so I could show my mom how the Mayan ladies wrap them up. Initally she was shy, but before we knew it there was a line of them, ten deep all showing their skirts to my mother and I. Cute as crap doesn´t even begin to describe it. They were all so adorable. Then they proceeded to run laps around the park and when they passed us, one of the tiniest ones would yell "¡¡Feliz Navidad!!", every time she passed, in her little squealy spanish.
For Christmas, the Guatemalans blow up fire works, all day and night and day and night. At midnight on Christmas Eve, every rooftop in town has a show of fireworks. Every direction one looks, fireworks. Fireworks for Jesus, happy birthday Jesus, let´s blow some stuff up.
After Antigua, we spent two days in the jungle to see the most famous Mayan ruins here in Guatemala, called Tikal. It was hot and humid and perfect. The temples of Tikal are some of the grandest of all the Mayan ruins and though I had been before, it was awesome to see again.
We spent the rest of the time at the lake after Tikal, taking it super easy. My mother had expressed her desire to not be running around the entire time, so we didn´t. We chilled. Lago de Atitlán is a perfect place to chill. She got to meet Chema, my tiny love, and she had even brought a giant stuffed animal fish for him, which to say the least, was a hit. He was shy taking the gift, but two seconds later he was attacking his friends with it as though it was a shark. I love him!
New Years Eve in San Pedro was more than nuts, though there was peace to be found. Being somewhat of a party town, San Pedro draws the crowds on the party holidays. Half of Guatemala City was up there, I swear. Not really, but no one has ever heard so many fireworks and fire crackers in their lives. They sell huge bomb fireworks on the street for like 60cents and rolls of fire crackers the size of basketballs. Nothing like buying heaps of fireworks from an 8 year old, no lie. Guatemalans know how to party, blowin´ stuff up.
The woman(mother) left this morning from the airport after a sucessful time here, and I´m sure she will be thrilled to be greeted by freezin´ ass temperatures after days of 70´s and 80´s in the jungles of Guatemala. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, cold sucks!!!
Now I am spending the night in Guatemala City because one of my best friends arrives tomorrow at the airport after three and a half months in South America. She will be here for three weeks and I´m looking forward to it immensely.
And the plot thickens. The camera cable I ordered and had my mother bring, was the wrong one. Good thing I found mine. sheesh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
